Multi-wire electrical interconnecting member having a multi-wire matrix of insulated wires mechanically terminated thereon

ABSTRACT

A multi-wire electrical interconnecting circuit member having a multi-wire matrix of insulated wires mechanically terminated on the multi-wire electrical interconnecting member. Wire retaining members positioned on the multi-wire electrical interconnecting member terminate the wires and establish a gas-tight electrical connection therewith. Each of the wire retaining members includes means for engaging a wire with sufficient force to penetrate any insulation thereon and establish and maintain a gas-tight electrical connection with the conductive core of the wire.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 762,118 filed Jan. 24, 1977U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,572 in turn a continuation of application Ser. No.604,204, filed Aug. 13, 1975, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,850.

The present invention relates to electrical interconnecting members, andmore specifically to a multi-wire electrical interconnecting memberhaving a multi-wire matrix of insulated wires mechanically terminatedthereon. The terms "termination" or "terminated" as used in thisspecification relate to mechanical and electrical termination, and itshould be understood that these terms cover wire which physically endsat points in the multi-wire matrix or which extends beyond these points.

Since the development of multi-wire circuit boards as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,674,914 (R. P. Burr), the need to provide gas-tightelectrical terminations between the insulated wire of a multi-wirematrix and the holes of a circuit board was recognized. In theaforementioned patent, the termination of the wires is effected bychemical metallization (electroless deposition). However, for certainapplications, it is desirable to terminate the wires by means other thanchemical metallization.

It is an object of the present invention to provide termination of theinsulated wires of a multi-wire matrix circuit member by mechanicalretaining members that are electrically joined to the matrix.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide mechanicalretaining members for a multi-wire matrix circuit member which utilizeexisting circuit member components.

It is a still further object of the present invention to providemechanical retaining members which provide gas-tight electricalconnections with the insulated wires of a multi-wire circuit member.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide amechanical retaining member for stripping or displacing the insulationfrom the insulated wires of a multi-wire circuit member to effectgas-tight electrical connection with the conductive core of theinsulated wires.

Other objects, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will beapparent when the detailed description is considered with the drawing.

Briefly, the multi-wire electrical interconnection circuit memberaccording to the present invention includes a multi-wire matrix havinginsulated wires mounted on the multi-hole circuit board and terminatedthereon, wire retaining members positioned on the multi-wire electricalmember to provide termination of the wires of the multi-wire matrix,each of the wire retaining members including means for engaging aninsulated wire with sufficient force to penetrate any insulation thereonand establish a gas-tight electrical connection therewith whilemechanically retaining the insulated wire.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire retaining eyelet according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the wire retaining eyelet of FIG.6 positioned in a hole prior to crimping;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the wire retaining eyelet of FIG. 7 aftercrimping;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of a portion of the wireretaining eyelet of FIGS. 6-8, for use with multi-wire circuit membershaving wire scribed on only one surface;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the wire retaining eyelet ofFIG. 4 inserted in a hole of a multi-hole circuit member with the topportion of the eyelet ready for insertion therein to form aninterference fit therewith;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the assembled eyelet of FIG.4 after crimping;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a modified wire retaining eyelet forinsulated wires which are offset relative to the center of the holes ofa multi-wire circuit member and having portions of the insulationremoved at the holes;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wire retaining eyelet of FIG. 7inserted in the hole of a multi-wire circuit member and terminating aninsulated wire; and

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the assembled wire retainingeyelet of FIG. 7 after crimping.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wire electrical interconnection circuit member,e.g., a multi-hole circuit board, in accordance with the presentinvention is illustrated at 78. The multi-hole circuit board 78 includesa plurality of scribed wires only two of which, 66 and 68, are shown.The insulated wires 66 and 68, which may take the form of rigid orflexible wires, form a portion of a multi-wire matrix. The multi-wirematrix is formed by suitably programmed multi-wiring machines, e.g., ofthe type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,914 (R. P. Burr). However, itshould be understood that any suitably programmed multi-wiring machinemay be employed to form the multi-wire matrix. Moreover, a multi-wirematrix may be formed on both surfaces of the circuit board 78 as shownin FIGS. 2 and 3 or on one side only as shown in FIGS. 6-9.Additionally, multi-levels of circuit boards 10 may be utilized.

Prior to forming the desired multi-wire matrix, the circuit board 78,generally in the form of a thin flexible or rigid substrate, is coatedwith a suitable adhesive, e.g., RC-205, manufactured by thePhotocircuits Division of Kollmorgen Corporation, on one or both sides74-76 as desired. The suitably programmed multi-wiring machine thenforms the desired matrix or matrices.

In some applications, FIGS. 7-9, the circuit board is pre-drilled orpunched at all terminating positions prior to wiring. For otherapplications, FIGS. 1-3, the multi-wire matrix is formed and the circuitboard is then drilled or punched at the location of all desiredterminations. With still other applications in which wire is scribed ononly one surface of the circuit board, FIGS. 4-6, no drilling orpunching of the circuit board is required but instead after themulti-wire matrix is scribed on the adhesive coated circuit board, thecircuit board is mounted on an N/C table for positioning eachterminating location at a work station. At each terminating location, awire retaining member is forced through the substrate from the unwiredside to form a termination.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, wire retaining eyelet 64 is shown forterminating the insulated wires 66 and 68 and 70 and 72 of multi-wirematrices formed on both sides 74 and 76 of a circuit board 78. Thecircuit board 78 is coated with an adhesive on both sides 74 and 76, asdesired. A multi-wire matrix is formed on both sides 74 and 76 and thecircuit board 78 is drilled at the location of all desired terminations.The wire retaining eyelet 64 is positioned in the terminating hole 80.The eyelet 64 includes a first cylindrical member 82 with a flange 84 atone end and a second cylindrical member 86, having a longer cylindricalportion, with a flange 88 at one end. The flanges 84 and 88 of each ofthe cylindrical members 82 and 86 are bent downwardly and includeserrations 90 and 92 with slots 94 dimensioned to strip or displace theinsulation and hold the wires 66 and 68. The first cylindrical member 82is inserted from the top surface 74 into the hole 80 and the slots 94receive the insulated wires 66 and 68 on the top surface 74 of thecircuit board 78. The second cylindrical member 86 is inserted into thehole 80 from the underside of the circuit board 78 and the slots 94receive the insulated wires 70 and 72 of the circuit board 78. Thesecond cylindrical member 86 has an outer diameter smaller than theinner diameter of the cylindrical first member 82 so that it extendsthrough the first cylindrical member. The assembled wire retainingeyelet 64 shown in FIG. 2 is crimped by a suitable inserting tool intothe position shown in FIG. 3, so that the insulated is displaced toprovide a gas-tight electrical connection between the conductors 66, 68,70 and 72 terminating at the hole 80.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, a modification of the eyelet 64 of FIGS. 1-3 isshown for terminating a multi-wire circuit board 96 having wireinscribed on only one surface 98. The circuit board 96 is wired on onesurface, as shown top surface 98, but not drilled. The multi-wirecircuit board 96 is mounted on an N/C table for successively positioningeach desired terminating point in the circuit board 96 at a workstation. At each successive terminating point, a first cylindricalmember 100 having a flange 102 at one end is inserted into the circuitboard 96 from its underside 104, thereby forming a circuit board 96 fromits underside 104, thereby forming a terminating hole 106, see FIG. 5.The end of the cylindrical member 100 remote from the flange 102includes serration 108 which cuts theough the substrate. Adjacent eachserration 108 is a slot 110 which grips the insulated wire 112 andpenetrates the insulation to establish electrical contact with theconductive core of the insulated wire 112. A second cylindrical member114 having an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of thefirst cylindrical member 100 is then inserted into the circuit board 96from the opposite end and extends therethrough. The second cylindricalmember 114 has a flange 116 at one end which abuts the top surface 98 ofthe circuit board 96. Insertion of the second cylindrical member 114enables the end remote from the flange 116 to cut the bridging sectionof the insulated wire 112 and forces out a small circular plug from theboard to form a terminating hole 106. The eyelet 118 is crimped intoposition as shown in FIG. 6 to retain the wire 112 in gas-tightelectrical contact therewith.

Referring to FIGS. 7-9, another variation of the wire retaining eyeletis shown. With this wire retaining eyelet 120, the circuit board 122 iscoated with an adhesive and drilled or punched at all requiredterminating positions and wires 124 are scribed on one or both sides 126and 128. When scribing the wires 124 on the circuit board 122 the wiringdatum is translated with respect to the drilling datum so that all wirescross their terminating holes offset in both the X and Y directions fromthe center of the hole.

Moreover, once the offset multi-wire matrix is completed the circuitboard 122 is removed from the wiring machine and the insulation isremoved from that portion of the insulated wire 124 which traverses thehole 130. Removal of the insulation may be accomplished eithermechanically or chemically. For mechanical removal the multi-wire matrixis placed between two plates, each of which carries a hole patternidentical to the hole pattern of the multi-wire circuit board 126. Theholes of the circuit board 126 are registered with the holes in theplates and the circuit board 126 compressed therebetween. A blast ofglass beads is directed through each of the registered holes, abradingthe insulation therein so that it is cleanly removed.

The eyelet 120 includes a first cylindrical member 132 having a flange134 at one end. The first cylindrical member 132 is inserted into thehole 130 from the bottom surface 128 of the circuit board 122 and itsflange rests against the bottom surface 128 of the circuit board 122. Asecond cylindrical member 136 having a flange 138 at one end is insertedinto the hole. The second cylindrical member 136 has an outer diametersmaller than the inner diameter of the first cylindrical member 132 forinsertion of the second cylindrical member 136 into the hole 130. Thesecond cylindrical member 136 is inserted from the top surface 126 andthe flange rests thereagainst. The offset wires 124 extending across thehole 130 from the top and bottom surfaces 126 and 128 are displacedgenerally tangent to the hole 130 by the cylindrical member 136 and 132,respectively. Advantageously, the flanges 134 and 138 of the cylindricalmembers 132 and 136, respectively, include radial undulations orserrations 140, see FIG. 8, for gripping and forming a gas-tightelectrical connection with the exposed conductors of the insulated wire124 upon crimping, see FIG. 9.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that a novel mechanicallyterminated multi-wire circuit board has been provided which eliminatesthe need to use chemical metallization or soldering to terminate themulti-wire matrix. A gas-tight electrical connection is obtained byinsertion of a wire retaining member into the circuit board. Such a wireretaining member may be formed in some cases with only slightmodification to existing terminal pin structures. It should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may bemade in the present invention without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, as described in the specification and defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-hole, multi-wire electricalinterconnection circuit board member comprising:a multi-wire matrixincluding insulated wire; and wire-retaining members; said wireretaining member includes first and second conductive members mounted inthe holes of the circuit board; each of said first conductive membershaving a flange which extends outwardly beyond the edge of a hole andcontacts one surface of the circuit board when said first conductivemember is positioned in a hole; each of said second conductive membershaving a flange which extends outwardly beyond the edge of a holecontacting the opposite surface of the circuit board, a portion of saidsecond conductive member extending through said first conductive memberto provide an interference fit therewith; and said flanges of saidconductive members having slots for displacing the insulation of theinsulated wires and establishing a gas-tight electrical connection withthe conductive cores of the insulated wires when said conductive membersare installed in the holes.
 2. A multi-wire electrical interconnectedmulti-hole circuit board comprising a multi-wire matrix includinginsulated wires and at least one wire retaining member includinginterengaging first and second conductive members extending from theopposite sides of said circuit board through a hole in said board, thefirst conductive member having a flange which extends outwardly beyondthe edge of said hole and into contact with the surface of said boardaround said hole at one side of said board, the second conductive memberhaving a flange which extends outwardly beyond the edge of said hole andinto contact with the surface of said board around said hole at theopposite surface of said board, a portion of said second conductivemember extending through said first conductive member and forming aninterference fit therewith, said flanges of said conductive membershaving slots for engaging and displacing the insulation of the insulatedwire and for establishing a gas-tight electrical connection between theconductive core of said wire and said conductive member as said firstand second conductive members are installed in said hole from theopposite sides of said board and said portion of said second conductivemember is extended through said first conductive member for forming aninterference fit therewith.
 3. A multi-wire electrical interconnectedcircuit member, as recited in claim 2, wherein said flanges are benttoward the surface of the circuit board and include serrations forgripping the circuit board.
 4. The multi-wire electrical interconnectioncircuit member, as recited in claim 2, having a multi-wire matrix on onesurface only, wherein said wire retaining members include first andsecond cylindrical members having flanges at one end thereof, said firstcylindrical member having serrations on the end remote from said flangefor insertion into the multi-wire electrical interconnection circuitmember and having slots adjacent said serrations for gripping and forestablishing a gas-tight electrical connection with an insulated wireupon insertion into the circuit members from the surface of the circuitmember opposite to that having the multi-wire matrix, said secondcylindrical member being positioned within the first cylindrical memberand crimped to provide an interference fit with said first cylindricalmember, said flange of said second cylindrical member engaging theinsulated wire which is in gas-tight electrical contact with said firstcylindrical member.
 5. A multi-wire electrical interconnected circuitmember, as recited in claim 2, in which the multi-wire electricalinterconnection circuit member is a multi-hole circuit board whereinsaid wire retaining member includes first and second conductive membersmounted in the holes of the circuit board, each of said first conductivemembers having a flange which extends outwardly beyond the edge of thehole and contacts one surface of the circuit board when said firstconductive member is positioned in the hole and having means forengaging and retaining the terminal end of the insulated wire on onesurface of the circuit board terminating at said hole and forestablishing a gas-tight electrical connection with said terminatedinsulated wire, each of said second conductive members having a flangewhich extends outwardly beyond the edge of the hole and contacts theopposite surface of the circuit board when said second conductive memberis positioned in the hole and having means for engaging and retainingthe terminal end of the insulated wire on the opposite surface of thecircuit board terminating at said hole and for establishing a gas-tightelectrical connection with said terminated insulated wire, said firstand second members being crimped to effect said gas-tight electricalconnections with said terminated insulated wires.
 6. A multi-wireelectrical interconnection circuit member, as recited in claim 5,wherein said first and second conductive members have cut out portionsbent into engaging contact with the insulation of the wires on the topand bottom surfaces, respectively, of the circuit board adjacent theterminal end of said wires.
 7. A multi-wire electrical interconnectioncircuit member as recited in claim 6, wherein said cut out portionsinclude protrusions which penetrate the insulation of the insulatedwires when said cut out portions are bent into engaging contact with theinsulation of said wires.
 8. A multi-wire electrical interconnectioncircuit member, as recited in claim 6, wherein said flanges includeprotrusions which penetrate the insulation of the insulated wires whensaid cut out portions are bent into engaging contact with the insulationof said wires.
 9. A multi-wire electrical interconnection multi-holecircuit board comprising a multi-wire matrix including insulated wiresin which the insulation is removed from the insulated wire atpredetermined points in the multi-wire matrix and at least one wireretaining member including inter-engaging first and second conductivemembers extending from the opposite sides of said circuit board througha hole in said board, the first conductive member having a flange whichextends outwardly beyond the edge of said hole and into contact with thesurface of said board around said hole at one side of said board, thesecond conductive member having a flange which extends outwardly beyondthe edge of said hole and into contact with the surface of said boardaround said hole at the opposite surface of said board, a portion ofsaid second conductive member extending through said first conductivemember and forming an interference fit therewith, one of said flangeshaving radial undulations for gripping the uninsulated wire and forestablishing a gas-tight electrical connection therewith.